Glasgow students team up with ScotRail

Published: 16 May 2016
By The Engineer

Students from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) have been working with ScotRail on a live engineering project involving one of the franchise operator’s trains.

The collaboration saw 11 students from the university develop a series of videos and animations based on a Class 158 train door system, which is made up of 101 components. Final-year students from GCU’s 3D animation and graphics programmes worked alongside a mechanical engineering student to produce the videos, which will now be used to help train ScotRail maintenance engineers.

“It was really encouraging and exciting to work with such young and talented engineers who will be the future of engineering around the world,” said Abhinay Ramani, senior continuous improvement manager at ScotRail.

“Their passion and commitment was exemplary and has further strengthened the strong knowledge-sharing bond between ScotRail and Glasgow Caledonian University, which has comprised of several undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students undertaking research and development. This has a direct benefit not only for ScotRail, but also for the university, the industry as a whole and, of course, the students themselves.”

The graphics students created a full 3D static model of a Class 158 train carriage with specific focus on air-system and underframe components, while the engineering student modelled the complete door of a Class 158, showing all the mechanical and pneumatic components and their interaction.

According to GCU, the project was such a success that a new batch of students has been asked to develop a more advanced and detailed training model that will allow for interactive fault finding and task-specific training.

“Such projects are great for simulating a working environment to develop the students’ understanding of real-world problem solving,” said GCU lecturer Dr Mohammed Soheeb Khan. “It further enhances their work experience and develops their skill set by allowing them to contribute to a live project and work with individuals from other disciplines.”